It had been three days since Alicia’s arrival. She was so quick to adapt, it was like she’d been with me from the very beginning. Although the tower wasn’t very large, cleaning it by myself was a real challenge. Thanks to her, we managed to get most of the rooms clean.
During one cleaning session, I tripped and stumbled into a nearby wall—and an ominous wobble came from the shelf behind me.
Crash!
Brow furrowed, I looked back to see a broken bottle on the ground.
Alicia popped up behind me with a stern look on her face, staring at the tragic heap of glass. “May I ask what happened, Mistress?”
“I, um, didn’t do it on purpose. Also, I told you to stop calling me that.”
“Oh, right. Are you hurt, Your Highness?”
“I’m all right. It didn’t fall on me.”
“Good. Now go on, please leave this to me.”
“What? It’s fine! I broke it, so I’ll clean it up.”
“But, Your Highness, there are still a lot of rather breakable things around here.”
That was true. There were a lot of bottles and other fragile things in the room. I supposed I should listen to Alicia and back off to prevent further disaster.
“Ugh…yeah. I’m sorry. Thanks, Alicia.”
“No problem, Your Highness!”
After that, I dutifully headed to my bedroom and waited. I felt a little sorry for her, but I had nothing else to do, so I cracked open a book. Once enough time had passed, I returned to Alicia.
“Are you almost done?” I asked.
“Yes, I just finished cleaning it all.”
“Okay, then let’s take a break.”
“Got it!”
Alicia brought out the tea set as I brewed us a pot. She repeatedly said she’d do it, but I insisted since I’d made a mess for her. Unfortunately, brewing tea was the only thing I had managed to accomplish today.
“Are you in a rush to clean the room because you want to be settled in the tower as soon as possible, Your Highness?”
“Yes. The plan was to move in after it was ready, but…I wanted to leave the palace immediately. I told them I’d clean it myself and left right away.”
A lot of people lived in the palace, and hearing their inner voices around the clock was incredibly irritating. So when my father told me I’d be living in the tower, I felt like I’d struck gold and dashed off as soon as I could.
“Is that also why you don’t have any servants besides me?”
“Mm-hmm.”
I had my food delivered to me, so I thought I could manage everything else on my own. This tower was always meant to house royalty, so it had been built to keep out prying eyes. I could get food and daily necessities from a room in the palace by taking an underground tunnel.
The look in Alicia’s eyes changed to something like bemusement. Bothered, I asked, “What is it, Alicia?”
“Nothing… I’m just amazed that you decided to move into the tower by yourself.”
“Is that because I can’t clean on my own?” That stunned her into silence, and I laughed. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I really thought I could handle it, though.”
“You’ve never had to clean before, right?”
“No, I haven’t—but I’ve practiced in my dreams.” I figured that referring to my past life as a dream wasn’t really a lie.
“I knew it.”
“You did?”
“You’ve got zero cleaning skills, Your Highness.”
“What?! No way! Am I that bad?”
Alicia faltered. I understood her trepidation; it must have been a difficult question to answer, coming from her employer. Nevertheless, I needed to hear it.
“Please! Be honest!”
“You drop and break something every time you clean. The books you tried to organize never made it back to the bookshelf. And for some reason, you always lose something after tidying up.”
“You’re right…” I muttered, feeling embarrassed.
I’d always been bad at cleaning, even in my past life. I was able to get by at work, but that was probably because organization was part of my job.
“I’m glad you came after all, Alicia. You always help me out. And that corner there—you not only cleaned up what I broke but also dusted the shelf!”
I truly was grateful for her. If I had chased her away, who knew how long it would have taken me to get this place looking halfway decent.
A shy grin spread across her face. “Happy to help, Your Highness.”
Oh, she’s cute.
“Okay, let’s continue!” I said. “Although, um, it’s probably better if I don’t help out in this room.”
My eagerness to get things done did not change the fact that there were a lot of fragile items strewn about.
“Yes, Your Highness…”
As I looked at the shelf, an idea struck me. “Oh, right! It’s all about DIY these days!”
Alicia tilted her head in confusion. “Dee eye why?”
“Yep. It’s when amateurs like me build things instead of hiring a professional. Though it’s hard work, the end result will have more sentimental value. And above all, you can customize the size and tailor it to your tastes.”
“But where can we get the materials?” Alicia asked.
“There’s a warehouse full of storage at the back of the tower, right? There should be wood and other tools inside.”
“Huh? You can leave the tower to go around back?”
“Ahh, you must’ve thought that the underground tunnel was the only way outside.”
“Yes, that’s what I was told.”
“There’s actually a secret door. I found it when I was exploring the place.”
Frankly, the first word that came to mind when I entered this tower was shabby. At the same time, I definitely found myself brimming with curiosity. The stories I read in my past life spoke of hidden doors in castles and stairs with trap doors… I always wondered if they truly existed, so I couldn’t stop myself from looking for them. As a result, I managed to find a path that led outside.
“We can go outside!” I said. “Okay, I’m going to fetch the materials now.”
“Your Highness, please wait!”
“Why?”
“I’ll help you get the materials.”
“It’s fine. If I wrap myself in magic, the materials will be as light as a feather.” Magic could be used to enhance someone’s physical prowess, making them stronger, faster, and more resilient.
“You only have two hands. Even if you enhance your body with magic, there’s only so much you can carry at once.”
“Hmm, that is true. But aren’t you busy with cleaning, Alicia?”
“I’m almost done.”
“Very well, then. I suppose you can help.”
The two of us exited the tower and retrieved some wood. Thanks to Alicia also being a mage, we managed to carry all the wood we needed in a blink of an eye.
“All right, let’s start building!” I exclaimed.
“I’ll cut the wood, all right? I can’t possibly let you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this many times in my dreams.”
“In your dreams…? You’ve said that about cleaning, too—wait, Your Highness!”
Ignoring Alicia’s protests, I started building the new shelf straight away.